Interview – Orbán expects 2017 to be “year of revolt”

Budapest (MTI) – The year 2017 will be characterised by a “rebellion” by the middle classes and nations that are “tied by political correctness”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview with news portal 888.hu posted on Thursday.

Orbán said he expected an “intellectual revolt against isolation and stigmatisation”, with upcoming elections in Germany, the Netherlands and France. He said it was because of a “middle class revolt” that in the US the “Clinton clan” lost the presidential election, and insisted that similar reasons were behind Brexit. In France, he said, “the neglected and vulnerable are seeking a way out and their helplessness will translate into political votes”.

Concerning the European Union, Orbán said that senior positions were occupied by “globalist-liberal forces representing a status quo”, seeking to build a European United States. “Christian, nationalist Europeans will have no say,” Orbán said, but added that global tendencies were not favourable for “Brussels dictating to nation states”. He vowed not to allow “Brussels to dictate energy prices or ban (Hungary’s) public utility cuts”. European leaders would not realise that governments “going against the will of the people” are “toppled one after the other”. “It is not the Hungarian government rebelling; it is the people, and the government represents what the people want,” Orbán said and added “this is in our genes; we are a nation of freedom fighters”.

From this time on, a “more distinct, cooler” politics will prevail, with “self-made characters” as politicians of his ruling Fidesz party or incoming US President Donald Trump.

Referring to the US, Orbán said ties and cooperation with the American people and US businesses have been good, but “some US politicians” have been “uncompromisingly belligerent” toward Hungary and the central European region because they thought local leaders would “act as yes men and accept all their conditions”. “Those Americans” sought to implement their “shrewd action plan” through civil groups, foundations and media outlets financed by George Soros, Orbán insisted.

Answering a question about corruption, the prime minister said that the fight against graft will “never be off the agenda”, but warned that accusing anyone without evidence is slander, which is “just as serious a crime as corruption”. He said “looking for loopholes, resorting to tricks, and envy” or the attitude that “anyone successful cannot be but suspicious” were remnants of Hungary’s communist past. “We must be happy to see one another’s success, because that will contribute to the country’s development”, he said. “This country will develop as we educate our children. If we set a good example and teach them not to seek the easier way but find their own even if that looks more difficult, this country could be great again”, Orbán added.